The first of the three sets I purchased was an almost complete example of the Santa Fe train set with flashing lights. The set apparently was never really played with. The engine and rolling stock are in exceptional shape, and all of the cardboard punch-out figures are still attached to the sheet they came in. The only thing missing are two yellow cardboard spacers that centered the power pack in the box.

This set is mostly intact. All that's missing are
two cardboard spacers that fit on either
side of the power pack.

Nomura used two different boxes for their tinplate HO train sets. The non-illuminated sets came in a rectangular box, while the lighted sets came in a square box (as did this one). "Illuminated" is a relative term, in this case.

The tiny bulb mounted in the locomotive is designed to draw very little power (the whole train's designed to be powered by 2 "D" cell batteries). It glowed just enough to be seen (don't try to run this train in the dark). The bulb lights up the side inserts and the green and red plastic shells on the roof (sort of). The box art uses a great deal of artistic license in this area. (see Part 52 for a demo of the flashing light feature).

When I first obtained examples of the cars offered in this set, (see Collecting and Collecting Information Part 17) postulated that they were made before the ones I had owned as a child. I reasoned that the Mantua-style loop and hook couplers, being much more complex than the simple hook and slot had to be an earlier design. Most manufacturers strive for simplification with successive iterations of a product.

Unfortunately, the engine's light bulb doesn't work, but even if it did, it would
be too faint to show up in this photograph.

The FL (left) has a set of plastic wheels, while the NL loco
(right) does not. That suggests the NL set was made earlier.

After examining this set, and comparing it with my own, I now believe that the flashing light sets were made after the simpler non-illuminated sets. Here's why:

1) A comparison of the locomotive trucks shows that the flashing light (FL) version uses plastic trucks as opposed to the non-illuminated (NL) one. Plastic was increasingly used in these toys as the 1960s progressed, becoming the material of choice by 1965.

2) A comparison of the tracks showed that the FL track uses plastic ties, while the NL track has fiberboard. This also suggests the FL set is newer.

3) Looking at the two locomotives, it's easy to see that the basic NL locomotive was modified to create the FL version. The cutouts in the shell were done after the lithography was applied. The slots for the rotating light mechanism are also missing from the NL version, suggesting they were added after the original stamper was made for that piece.

The die-cut cardboard figures and scenery were all intact. Nomura used
this sheet in other train sets they offered.

The NL track (left) uses fiberboard.
The FL track (right),uses plastic.
This also suggests the NL set is older.

So there was much to learn from this piece. And, as a bonus, it still had the original price tag. This set sold for $2.98 at Newberrys, sometime in the early 1960s. That price in today's dollars? $24.62 (I paid $32.98 for the set, only $8.36 about the adjusted retail price).